Unified platform overhaul drives four-fold onboarding growth and a 135% jump in app ratings
Facing a fiercely competitive market across the GCC and a digital-first generation, BSF made a high-stakes decision: rebuild everything. With eyes on the future, they overhauled their tech stack, redesigned customer experience, and restructured how teams work.
1.3 M
In an AI-driven world, legacy systems don’t just slow you down — they shut you out of real growth. To compete, banks need a modular foundation built for speed, intelligence, and scale.
customers
$76.77bn
In an AI-driven world, legacy systems don’t just slow you down — they shut you out of real growth. To compete, banks need a modular foundation built for speed, intelligence, and scale.
in total assets
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
In an AI-driven world, legacy systems don’t just slow you down — they shut you out of real growth. To compete, banks need a modular foundation built for speed, intelligence, and scale.
is the headquarters
Objectives
As early as 2018, the bank began seriously evaluating how to build the foundation needed to support the future of banking. At the time, BSF didn’t even operate its own core banking system which limited their ability to design, deliver, and scale the kinds of products its customers increasingly demanded. BSF also began revamping its entire digital banking layer, customer-facing channels that had become outdated and rigid. The ambition was to create a future-ready platform that could support innovation, growth, and scale. To make that ambition real, BSF had to advance on two fronts, modernizing its technology and sharpening its strategic edge to meet a fast-moving market.
Solution
The team evaluated multiple platforms, benchmarking against a range of criteria. But one question rose above the rest: can this platform grow with BSF? Can it keep up with the pace of the market, and is it investing heavily in R&D to stay ahead? With Backbase, BSF adopted a buy plus build approach. The platform offered the flexibility to grow, the openness to integrate, and the architecture to scale at the pace of customer expectations, all while giving BSF’s teams the tools to build fast and stay in control.
Results
The transformation reshaped how BSF operates, engages, and grows. From customer satisfaction to internal efficiency, the bank saw impact across every level.
Backbase gives us something banks rarely get: speed without losing control. The platform evolves with us, the architecture is built for continuous innovation, and they invest heavily in R&D to stay ahead. We're not ripping and replacing every few years. We're building on a foundation that grows with our customers.
Backbase
Win the mobile-first generation
Backbase
See how BSF rebuilt its entire digital stack to deliver instant onboarding, a five-star app experience, and full customer control.